THE recent rainfall followed by a long, dry spell could put the state into catastrophic fire danger territory by early January.
But Tasmania's three leading fire and forestry agencies say "we're as prepared as we've even been".
Speaking as areas of South Australia were yesterday determined to be under catastrophic risk of bushfire, Tasmania Fire Service chief Mike Brown said that this state's fire season was yet to really begin.
"It's early days," he said.
"The rain has been positive, but on the other it's caused some really dramatic growth in fire fuel - and while it's green right now, it'll eventually dry off."
Mr Brown warned Tasmanians against being lulled into a false sense of security for that reason.
"A lack of rain post-Christmas could leave us with drier conditions than in the previous two bushfire seasons, however, the information (from the Bureau of Meteorology) is so far forecasting average temperatures and rainfall," he said.
"But if there's no rain after Christmas, we could be left with a recipe for severe fire conditions."
Tasmanians who live on the urban interface - for example in Trevallyn, Riverside, Rocherlea and Ravenswood - or in bushfire- prone areas have a matter of weeks to prepare their properties.
"We might get notification from the Bureau (of Meteorology) four days out (of catastrophic or extreme fire conditions), which is very late in the piece to start preparing," Mr Brown said.
"Look at our website, look at our advice and formulate a firm plan - if you haven't already."
Both the Parks and Wildlife Service and Forestry Tasmania began preparing for the bushfire season several months ago.
"We expect that, like in any season, a period without significant rainfall could result in serious fires," Parks and Wildlife fire operations manager Adrian Pyrke said yesterday.
But he said that the service was well placed for whatever the coming months brought.
"The state's starting to dry out, but this time three years ago we were already right into serious fire conditions," he said.
The Parks and Wildlife Service is responsible for 2.4-million hectares, or 40 per cent of Tasmania.
It employs a small team of specialist firefighters stationed around the state, with 130 workers also fully trained as firefighters.
Forestry Tasmania takes a similar approach, managing 1.5 million hectares - or 20 per cent of the State - with 300 employees capable of taking on fire-fighting roles when required.
Both Forestry Tasmania and the Parks and Wildlife Service have already undertaken a large number of fuel reduction burn-offs in high-risk areas.
And both have identified the North-East of the state to be the area of most concern.
"It's certainly the most fire-prone area," Forestry Tasmania Bass forest manager Peter Bird said yesterday.
The TFS, supported by Forestry Tasmania, will conduct a large fuel reduction burn-off in the area of Diana's Basin on the East Coast today, with residents and motorists warned to expect smoky conditions in some areas as a result.
• More information about bushfire safety can be obtained from www.fire.tas.gov.au.
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